X-rays and scans from New Zealand will be increasingly assessed offshore, because of a shortage of radiologists.
International Accreditation New Zealand has been accrediting radiology practices in New Zealand since the 1990s, but is now preparing to register practices in Australia and South Africa to assess X-rays and scans from this country.
Chief executive Llew Richards said reading those tests overseas will mean round-the-clock interpretation of results and quicker diagnosis for patients.
Dr Richards said radiologists in one part of New Zealand already use teleradiology to look at X-rays or CT scans from other parts of the country.
He said that increasingly radiologists overseas will be involved, in South Africa, Britain and possibly the United States and Canada.
